We had returned to London after quite some time away.
While my lover Sholmes and I were in the middle of a date—.
'—Oh-'
The sound of something snapping echoed along with the sound of his voice.
Wondering what had happened, I turned towards Sholmes—.
‘Oh? Since when did you start wearing your hair down…..?’
Sholmes’s hair, which was usually tied up, had completely come undone.
Seeing his hair look unexpectedly different, Sholmes laughed as if not sure what to do.
‘Ah, no, I didn’t let it down myself. It would appear that the tie holding it up has snapped.’
As he explained, Sholmes touched his hair as if restless.
Similarly, apart from when it was time to sleep or after he had just come out of the bath, I never saw his hair this way either, so it was a strange feeling for me too.
‘If it makes you uncomfortable, should we buy a hair tie from a shop somewhere?’
‘…..No, I’ve got spares at the office. Let’s continue our date. I could not bear to have my time with you wasted on something that is just for my convenience.’
‘Heheh. You don’t need to worry so much about something like that.’
As he smiled and put his arm through mine, I drew as close to him as I could without it becoming difficult to walk.
And when I did, Sholmes’s free flowing hair touched my cheek.
‘Seeing it like this…..your hair really is very beautiful, Sholmes.’
‘Really? From my point of view I’ve just been letting it grow longer out of laziness…..’
‘.....H~m. That it’s so pretty even without you doing any upkeep on it is kind of unfair I think.’
‘Hahaha. To me, your hair is much more beautiful.’
As if in unison with Sholmes’s smile, the strands of his hair softly swayed in the wind. And as it did—
—Um, excuse me!
‘..........?’
A voice called out from a short distance behind us.
I had no idea who they were calling for but—
‘Oh, it appears they mean us? This voice isn’t a familiar one, however…..’
Sholmes immediately determined that the voice had been calling out to us.
As I stopped walking at the same time as Sholmes, turning around to look behind me—just as he had deduced, I could tell that two men were heading directly towards us, walking quickly as they came closer.
‘Hmph…..Cardia. Just in case, would you mind getting back behind me? I don’t sense any hostility from them but…..considering the level of safety in this area, there’s no guarantee they’re not up to no good.’
‘A-Alright.’
Following Sholmes’s instructions, I took a step back—despite them still being a short distance away.
It was obvious that the men were looking our way as they smiled and waved their hands.
Facing Sholmes, who was being cautious, hiding me behind him, they called out-
—Hey there. What a truly lovely pair of sisters we’ve got here.
—If you don’t mind, how about having some tea with us after this?
‘————’
‘............Huh?’
Sholmes stiffened.
I was having trouble making sense of the words I had heard just now.
...........U-Um-
Just now…..If I hadn’t heard them wrong-
—“Sisters.” Is that what they’d called Sholmes and I….?
‘Um…..Sholmes?’
‘.....Ha, hahaha. Of all things- Not even I could have predicted this.’
—Sholmes’s laugh seemed somehow lacking in energy.
Just as I was wondering what to say-
The men drew nearer to us with rapid footsteps…..finally arriving right before Sholmes’s eyes.
It would appear they had been trying to chat us up in order to take us to tea.
With an expression on his face that could be called friendly, one of the men went to speak to Sholmes.
‘—Hey, what exactly is it you want with me? My apologies, but right now I am in the middle of a date with my beloved.’
Hearing his “voice” as he spoke with a pleasant smile, they froze. Looking baffled, they once more took a good look at Sholmes’s face and figure—noting the “height difference” between him and I, who was hiding a little ways behind…..it appeared they had finally noticed that Sholmes was a man.
—P-Pardon us…..!!
Seeming truly awkward as they apologised, the men quickly took their leave.
…..However, it was even more awkward for us, still standing in the same spot.
‘.....Sholmes. Um, that was…..?’
‘My hair being unbound as the cause notwithstanding, to think I would be mistaken for a woman…..and that you and I would be taken for sisters is something I really did not expect.’
So speaking, he sighed.
All the same, since they had been able to realise that he was a man straight away, it appeared he had not taken too great a shock from what had happened.
Even so, Sholmes, in his own way, was likely at least a little perturbed—
‘.....If anything…..perhaps I should take this as an opportunity to cut my hair once and for all. If I do, there won’t be any more strange misunderstandings, like just now—’
‘Y-You musn’t!’
Hearing me raise my voice so suddenly, Sholmes’s eyes widened.
Still, there was absolutely no way I could accept what he’d said just now…..!
‘I-I like your hair, Sholmes…..! And also, if you cut it short, I won’t be able to do the hair care I always do for you after you have your bath…..!’
Hearing me insist so strongly, to the point that even I knew I’d gotten too worked up—
‘—Fufu, I see. That certainly would be…..a problem. We’d be losing out on one more reason for us to touch each other.’
Smiling, Sholmes nodded.
‘.....I understand. If it bothers you that much, I shall give up on cutting my hair. However, let’s see…..perhaps in exchange…..Cardia. Even if it’s just a little, why not try growing your hair out longer too?’
‘.....? Me?’
‘Yes. Ever since we’ve met, you’ve had the same hairstyle, right? Of course, even now you are more than lovely enough but…..’
Sholmes suddenly took up a tuft of my hair—.
‘I, too…..would love to see your beautiful, shining hair gently swaying in the wind.’
The triangle dates were a fantastic addition to Wintertide Miracles!! In these stories, Cardia doesn't choose anyone but is free from her poison, so she lives some cliché tropes with two love interests at the same time and I loved that! GIMME MORE FLUFF CONTENT. I played all the dates (besides the secret ones) yesterday so here are my top 5!
5 - Van x Cardia x Saint
This one is less about the boys and more about how I love to see my girl happy. She suffered so much and now she can live as a normal girl, dancing and being sandwiched between two men lol
Btw it's always a pleasure to see Van Helsing being soft towards Cardia.
4 - Victor x Cardia x Impey
Sandwiched Cardia!!
Ok this scenario was so sweet, the smart guys came to rescue their princess from insomnia. Fran made a calming essence from some herbs and Impey the device that sprays it in the air. Their work is successful and I love how they look soft here, looking at her.
3 - Van x Cardia x Impey
One of my favorite tropes is the Caretaking one and I'd love to see Lupin and Victor in this situation, but I have to admit that it was smart to use Impey and Van.
Cardia is having a high fever, they don't have the medical knowledge to help her, and the mansion is conveniently empty, so although they don't have the best synergy in the crew, they have to work together anyways, just for her. I love it.
2 - Van x Cardia x Lupin
I love the umbrella trope, I love Lupin and I love Lupin and Van Helsing's interactions. AND SANDWICHED CARDIA!
It was so cute how Van was planning to share an umbrella with Cardia and how he got embarrassed once Lupin figured out his plan.
Bonus points for sandwiched Cardia laughing softly, so they stop arguing with each other because Cardia is happy and that's the most important thing.
1 - Victor x Cardia x Lupin
The moment I saw this picture on Pinterest, I knew I had to play this FD. Lupin and Victor are my favorite routes!
I wasn't expecting this scenario at all! First of all, poor Victor, he's too shy and feels left behind in the fight for Cardia's heart. One day, he happened to see Lupin and Cardia in an intimate moment (Lupin was actually just teasing Cardia), which made him desperate.
Victor needs the courage to confess his feelings before it's too late, so... He uses a truth serum he made for the queen. It was just a sip but it was enough to surprise Cardia. Lupin sees this as a challenge and then we have this beautiful picture!!!! AAAA
I like this route because once the effects of the serum fade, Cardia tells Victor to not rely on tricks to confess to her, so she'll wait for his next try as if nothing had happened. Lupin, on the other hand, knows Victor will be a worthy rival since he has "woken up", so he won't let his guard down again.
Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~ for the Nintendo Switch is now available for preorder!
You can get it from Amazon.com here:
Limited Edition (USD$59.99)
Standard Edition (USD$39.99)
"Aksys Games is pleased to announce that Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~, the third chapter in the beloved interactive fiction series, is coming to the Nintendo Switch™ in early 2021 in both Standard and Limited Editions. Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~ invites fans to join the poison-skinned heroine Cardia Beckford on further adventures with a team of famous (and famously handsome) figures from Western literature as they face new challenges, new friends and foes, and new opportunities for love.
The Limited Edition of Code: Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~ will include a set of five 1.5” metal buttons featuring new holiday chibi artwork and a 3” acrylic keychain of Cardia in her winter costume. This keychain will be the third in the Code: Realize exclusive set of acrylic keychains.“
